Pantone Winter 2012 - Coffee & Nougat for your wardrobe

Fall's neutrals are still holding strong this winter.  Here are a few items to warm up your transitional wardrobe as we get ready for spring to arrive.  I think these colors look great with a pop of pink, but that might just be because my brain is already looking forward to Valentine's Day and chocolatey goodness.

Start with a pretty, delicate sweater...

Forever 21 Chunky Knit Sweater Cardigan with Belt || Old Navy Pointelle Tie-Waist Cardigan

Accessorize with a Vera Bradley purse in Mocha Rouge...

Vera Bradley Frannie Purse

Choose a casual bracelet...

Galveston Bracelets from Handmade By Anne Potter on Etsy

And finish with a manicure in a color with a name that will make you smile!

OPI Muppets Collection Nail Lacquer in Warm and Fozzie

Sunday Simplicity #53

Ida Sjostedt Couture

Perfect Bound

Trendy Tuesday: Side Braids

I'm a little obsessed with braids right now, to the point where my new hair goal is to grow my hair long enough to wear a side braid this spring. Here are some inspiration photos that show it works for any occasion...


for work...

Camilla Belle via StyleBistro|| Kim Kardashian via Hair on the Brain

for the weekend...

Zoe Saldana via Totsyblog || Sarah Hyland via The Haircuts

for a party...

Nicole Kidman via Brides || Rachel McAdams via Hair Style Images || Selena Gomez via Hair on the Brain

and even as a wedding hairstyle!

1 via Sweet Sunday Events || 2 via Celebs' Fashion

If you'd like to add any of these images to your Pinterest boards, please click the link below the image to visit the original source and pin from there so the creator/artist gets credit.  Thank you!

Today is a teacher workday.  Let's see how much I can accomplish...

Sunday Simplicity #52 [a year of simple posts]

Snippet and Ink

Style Me Pretty

Style Me Pretty

If life's not a party, you're doing it wrong.

A New Year, A New Journal

One of my goals for 2012 is to start art journaling again. In college, I watched a community called jr__nal on Livejournal, and took several classes that stimulated my artistic side- my J-Term drama class where we did a lot of abstract artwork to explore the cultually shared emotional associations we have with certain colors and shapes (which is applicable to set and costume design!) and the class I took on graphic novels and art installations.  I have some nice art journals which are now gathering dust and haven't really been at it since I started teaching.  Well, I believe that creativity begets creativity- spend some time painting, and then later you might feel like writing a poem or working on a bit of fiction.  2011 was really all about the wedding for me, so that's where all of my creative energy went- the centerpieces, the chalkboards, the birdcages and such.  This year, I guess I want to be selfish with my creativity again- to make art for the sake of being able to live through emotions again and again.

This weekend, in addition to a family movie outing to see Sherlock Holmes: a Game of Shadows, we took a little detour to Barnes and Noble, where my sister-in-law and I did some journal shopping.  She found one with illustrated pages, which should really spark some creativity.  I kept going back and forth and finally settled on old faithful: a black, softcover Moleskine with unlined pages and just the right size for sticking in my purse.

The LBD of journals?

Since a black cover is not inspirational to me at all, I've been looking at photos of decorated Moleskines on Etsy and the web.  Here are some that I love:

Alice in Wonderland moleskine by OrchidsHeart on Etsy - this would have been my dream journal in 2009, which was the year of my Alice obsession thanks to Syfy and Tim Burton.

Silhouette moleskine by Tarashton on Etsy.  This could have been "the one" the year I read all of Jane Austen's novels.

Amazing Ideas moleskine by Emily (available here on Etsy)

Emily also makes a Harry Potter moleskine... love it!

Map of Paris moleskine by Movetheneedle on Etsy

Feather moleskine by Sue Brown.  My favorite so far, but I'm not sure my art skills are at that level!

Do you keep a paper journal?  Have you ever tried art journaling?

Sunday Simplicity #51

Pinterest

Pinterest

Elizabeth Anne Designs

Martha Stewart Weddings

Steps Toward an Organized, Efficient and Healthy 2012

Better Homes and Gardens

It's officially 2012.  My lesson plans for the next two weeks are written and I am headed back to work today- when New Year's falls on a weekend we go right back into the swing of things at school.  I'm excited about 2012- my first full year as a wife.  We're pretty settled in here at the Townhouse, and I have several New Year's goals related to making it an even better place to live.

Belle Maison

Organized Bills, Mail, and Responsibilities = Happy Finances

• To-Do: Find a calendar with nice big boxes for 2012.
• To-Do: Obtain either a bulletin board or shutter system as shown above for the kitchen wall with space for bills, invitations, etc.

PBTeen

Making the Most of Limited Bedroom and Bathroom Space = Quicker Morning Routine

• In the spirit of starting the New Year with a clean slate (myself being the slate), I did a closet-cleaning overhaul; I did all of my laundry so that I could see how much space ALL my winter clothes took up, put summer clothes away, and took out items that are too worn (fabric pilling, holes, etc.) or that I never wear (poor fit or not as cute in real life as in the store).  I made a rag pile and a Goodwill pile.
• I ordered drawer dividers and a cosmetics organizer from the Container Store.
• I cleaned all my makeup brushes, threw away expired products, and ordered new Mary Kay
• To do:  go through all my purses and make a Goodwill pile and a consignment pile.
• To do:  actually store my jewelry instead of throwing it on the dresser in a tangled pile of chains.  I am hoping to find something similar to PBTeen's Chloe rotating organizer (shown above) at T.J. Maxx or Marshall's, otherwise I may have to spring for the real deal which is expensive but perfect.

House of Smiths

Organized Cabinets = Easier Cooking

• I ordered a spice rack from Stacks & Stacks which I liked because it will not require pouring all of our spices into new bottles.  It's a little pricey but it will be an improvement over our current cardboard box of spices, and it has labels so it will be easy to check whether or not we have a particular spice before starting a recipe.  Let me tell you, getting halfway through a recipe, digging through the box o' spices (which all look similar, so I have to pull them all out and read the labels) and discovering that we do not actually have the needed spice = cooking fail.
• To-Do: Put cereal and pasta into clear BPA-free containers so that it is easy to see what we have and what we need.
• To-Do:  Use containers to corral boot camp blends, coffee and creamer, and baking powders.

A Glimpse of the Girl Next Door

Healthy, Organized Cleaning Products = Healthy Family with Clean Clothes and Dishes

• I was so excited when I found out that our town house has a dishwasher- my mom's house did not.  I got really freaked out the first time I went shopping for diswasher packets- they were almost all made with chemicals I could not pronounce.  I found Seventh Generation dishwashing pacs to be the healthiest looking: they do not contain chlorine or phosphates and use citric acid to clean.  The formula is biodegradable.
• I also use Seventh Generation laundry detergent and fabric softener.

Are you taking steps to be more organized, efficient, or healthy this year?  Do you have any favorite "healthy" cleaning products?

Sunday Simplicity #50 ~ HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Style Me Pretty

Elizabeth Anne Designs

Martha Stewart Weddings

Sugar Paper